All Children Grow Up, Except Two
by Shouta Izukai
Summary: In his 320 years of existence, Jack had never experienced something like this. Or, for that matter, seen anyone like him. Possibly Jack/Peter later on.


**Why you ask? There needs to be more of this. More of this beautiful pair.  
No, but really. This is for the sake of it, so updates will be very irregular I bet. (Then again, updates always are with me.) I don't own anything (sadly), and this takes place about 3 years after RotG.**

* * *

In all his 320 years of existence, Jack had never experienced something like this. Or, for that matter, seen anyone like him.

For a long moment Jack stared into those chocolate brown eyes, searching for the answer to his unspoken questions. The boy, in return, cocked his head curiously.

"What are you staring at me for?" Jack blinked. As the other's words began sinking in, his face became bright red from his embarrassment.

"N-Nothing. It's just… you seemed familiar." Jack stuttered. That wasn't quite the reason for his staring, but it wasn't quite a lie, either. The boy with the curly, strawberry-blond hair seemed familiar to him, but he just couldn't place it.

The boy grinned. "Then you must have heard of me. I'm Peter. Peter Pan!" Peter let out a laugh, the sound of animals racing freely on the earth. It was true that the name struck a chord in Jack's memory, but it was too distant, too hazy to grasp.

After a minute, Jack shrugged. "Sorry. I can't remember anyone by that name." Peter's grin fell quickly from his face, replaced by a childish pout.

"So? What about you?" Peter asked, and from Jack's confused look, clarified, "What's your name?"

Jack smiled, leaning back casually on the branch. "Jack Frost. Nice to meet you." Peter, of course, had heard of the winter spirit. He remembered the stories he was told. But, merely out of childish spite, didn't want to admit it. So he forgot.

"I've never heard of you." He said, setting his hands on his hips. Worn animal hide (kindly given by Tiger Lily) made up his pants, held there by vines. His only piece of clothing, unless you counted the knife and pipes he always carried, but it seemed fine for him none the less.

Jack found the blond intriguing. He was childish, brash, selfish and very vain, yet oddly attractive. He had this twinkle in his eyes, the way Tooth said Jack sometimes had when he was having fun. And then there was that contagious smile, and his infectious laughter. As Jack was a winter spirit, this boy seemed like the spirit of childhood, and youth itself. The snowy-haired Guardian briefly wondered if he had encountered this kid back when he was human somewhere, but immediately shook off such a thought. That was impossible.

It was a late afternoon in the middle of January: Jack's favorite time of year. He delighted in causing a little mischief, watching nostalgically as freezing children ran inside to the warmth of a fire. Yet, this _kid_ was dressed in no more than a pair of dirty shorts and he didn't seem even the slightest bit cold. Again Jack thought of the other as a sort of enigma.

"So what're you doing here?" Jack asked, now realizing that a strange child was walking around in the snow half-naked, and with a dagger at that.

"I was observing." Peter replied, seeming proud at his large vocabulary.

"Observing what?" The blond pointed, where a group of teenage boys sat together at a table, drinking hot chocolate and coffee. They couldn't have been older than 18. "Do you know them?" Jack found it strange. Peter-who must've been 14 or 15-being friends with people 4 or 5 years older than him. On top of that, they didn't seem to have anything in common with him.

"They're the-They're just some people I found interesting." Peter kept on a mask, but the Guardian still caught his slip. He wondered…

"Hey, aren't you cold?" Jack raised an eyebrow at Peter, who only just noticed how he was dressed in such weather. Peter just shrugged. Rolling his eyes, Jack leaped down from the tree branch with ease, grabbing Peter's hand and walking quickly through the park.

Peter, though still slightly shocked at how cold Jack's hands were, pulled against the other's grasp. "Hey, where are we going?" He protested, glowering at the elder. Jack laughed at Peter's reaction.

"To get you into something warmer. We're in England and it's below freezing out here." He replied, still chuckling to himself.

Jack decided he liked this kid.

* * *

After attempting to get the other boy into warmer clothes, Jack wasted the little money he had on the coat and shoes, only to have them thrown off and lost at some strange point in time.

"You could've at least given them to me." He grumbled as Peter strolled around in his animal hide shorts. The other shrugged. Strangely enough, they didn't receive any weird looks even though there was a kid walking in a foot of snow with only a pair of ragged pants on.

Peter, however, was perfectly fine. He never had a problem in the cold or the heat. It was only when either side of the thermometer hit the extremes that he had to do something about it. That was when he got an idea.

"C'mon, I know a place where we can hear some good stories." He proclaimed, catching Jack by surprise as he jumped into the air, and stayed there. The Spirit got over his shock quickly, following after the boy. Peter was just as surprised, but grinned and flew off.

* * *

After following the boy-that-never-grows-up through the maze called London, Jack watched in confusion as Peter landed softly near an open window. The blond brought a finger to his lips, pointing inside. Jack followed his lead, moving to the other side of the window and peeking in.

Inside was a young woman, with long, brown hair set in curls that cascaded over her shoulders. Her eyes held something in them. Jack had seen the same look in the eyes of the other Guardians, when they would stare off into the distance, remembering. It was the knowledge of true love, Jack realized. To know what it's like to have it, and then to lose it.

The woman gazed into the eyes of a younger girl, with the same brown hair and big eyes. The girl snuggled into bed, listening intently as her mother told a story. As Jack listened, he realized that the story was about Peter.

"Mommy, do you think I can go to Neverland someday?" The girl asked, eyes sparkling with excitement. The woman chuckled quietly, gently kissing her daughter goodnight and pulling up the covers.

"Maybe. Good night Jane." She whispered in return, and turned off the light.

"Good night mommy…" Jane mumbled, drifting off to sleep.

Jack watched curiously as Peter continued to linger by the window, even though there would obviously be no more stories that night. The woman, who was just about to leave the room, stopped and turned abruptly.

"Peter?" She asked, and the boy floated down until his feet touched the floor of the balcony.

"Hello Wendy." He replied, bowing. The woman smiled sadly, and there was an unseen tension between them as Jack looked on. He had slowly moved to stand by Peter, knowing the woman probably wouldn't see him anyways.

"Where's Tink? I thought she'd be with you."

"I banished her." Peter said simply, and Wendy frowned.

"…Boy, why are you crying?" This statement shocked the blonde, who felt his face as tears flowed from his eyes.

"I'm not crying." Peter sniffled, wiping his eyes quickly. "I had an allergic reaction to something." He refused to look back at Wendy, who looked desperately as if she wanted to comfort him. But she didn't move any closer. "Besides, I wanted to hear your stories."

The sad, almost nostalgic smile made its way back onto Wendy's face. "Peter, the way you talk about girls is most lovely." Peter grinned proudly, chest puffing out.

"One girl is worth more than twenty boys."


End file.
